Stand eob



W. M. STANBROUGH.

STAND FOR DENTAL ARTICULATORS.

APPLICATION FILED IAN-2h 1919.

1 $20,583., Patented. Nov. 4, 1919.

WILLIAM MONELL STANBROUGH, OF NEWBURGH, NEW YORK.

STAND FOR DENTAL ARTICULATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 4, 1919.

Application filed January 21, 1919. Serial No. 272,255.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM M. STAN- BROUGH, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Newburgh, in the county of Orange and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stands forDental Articulators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described,reference being had to the accompanying drawing which illustrates oneembodiment of the invention selected by me for purposes of illustration,and the said invention is fully disclosed in the following descriptionand claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a supporting brace or stand fordental articulators adopted especially for the purpose of holding theupper aw member thereof rigidly or in fixed position, while permittingthe lower jaw member to be moved laterally in both directions, toapproximate the lateral mandibular movement of the human jaw and therebyeffect more readily and satisfactorily the grinding action of theocclusal surfaces, in fitting a set of dentures. In preparing denturesof this kind under present methods it is customary to effect the lateralmandibular movements by holding one jaw stationary and moving the other,and the grinding is accomplished by applying an abrasive substance tothe occlusal surfaces of the dentures. This is a fatiguing operation andrequires a great deal of time. I have found that by maintaining theupper jaw member upon a rigid support or stand and moving the lower jawmember with respect thereto, the grinding action can be accomplishedmuch more rapidly and with less fatigue. My improved stand or support isalso advantageous in use in mounting and fitting the dentures, inapplying measuring instruments to the same to determine the properposition of the occlusal planes, to wit, the lateral and fore and aftcompensating planes, and for facilitating examinations as to theprogress in preparing and fitting the dentures.

In the accompanying drawing I have shown my invention applied to adental articulator invented by me and which forms the subject matter ofan application for Letters Patent of the United States, filed by me Jan.21, 1919, .and given Serial Number 272256 but my present invention isnot limited with this particular form of articulator, and may eitherwith or without slight variations of form be readily accommodated to anyother type of articulator on the market.

Referring to'the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of my improved stand in operativeposition holding a dental articulator, the dentures parried therebybeing indicated in dotted mes.

Fig. 2 is a partial vertical section of my improved stand or support.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the same.

In the embodiment of my invention herein shown and described, 1represents a supporting base which is preferably of considerable area atthe bottom to afford a wide bearing upon a desk, work bench, or table,and is preferably made of considerable weight. In the present instanceit is shown as having a cast iron body 2 covered with a top of sheetmetal 3, as indicated in Fig. 2, but the particular material employed isnot important. 4 represents the standard secured to the base 1 andextending upward therefrom. In this instance the standard is screwedinto the cast metal base 2 as shown in Fig. 2 and the base and standardform a Very substantial support which is not easily moved. The upper endof the standard 4: is provided with a pair of laterally extending arms55 carrying each a trough-shaped bearing support 6 to receive lateralportions of the pivots or pivot rods of the dental articulator, thesebearing supports being so located as to permit the ends of the pivot rodto project to or beyond them so as to facilitate the application of aface bow of usual or any preferred construction. The trough-like bearingsupports 6 are so constructed as to extend at least halfway around thepivot rods and the front edge of each of said bearing supports iscarried slightly over the pivot, the rear edge being correspondingly cutaway so that the pivot rod cannot be lifted directly out of thetroughlike bearings in a vertical direction, but must be moved slightlyrearwardly at the same time to disengage the pivots from their bearingsupports. This construction prevents. the accidental displacement of thepivot rods from the bearing supports and assists in holding thearticulator firmly in position. The vertical standard 4: is alsoprovided with a laterally swinging support ing arm 7 adapted todetachably engage and support the upper j aw member of the articulatorat a point forward of the axis of its pivotal connections with the lowerjaw member. It is desirable to have this arm 7 capable of an oscillatingor a swinging movement in order that it may be swung into and out ofoperative position, and in order to give it the desired rigidity, Iprefer to so mount it that it shall have a long vertically disposedpivotal bearing or connection with the standard 4:. This may beaccomplished in many ways. In the embodiment of the invention shown inthe drawings I have shown the standard 4: provided with a verticallydisposed bearing sleeve 8 in which is mounted a vertical pivot 9 securedat its upper end to the arm 7 the sleeve 8 being attached by brackets 1Oat top and bottom, as shown, or in any other desired manner, to thestandard 1. At its outer end the arm 7 is provided with a horizontallydisposed wedging plate 11 preferably notched as indicated in Fig. 3, atits outer end, which is adapted to engage a suitable horizontallydisposed notch, kerf, or recess in a part connected with the upper jawmember, so as to be firmly united thereto, and thus enable the standardL to rigidly support the upper jaw member with respect to it. Forconvenience I also prefer to provide the supporting arm 7 with ahorizontally and rearwardly extending arm 12 rovided with a handle 13,as shown. This handle serves several purposes. It provides a convenientmeans for carrying the standard or moving it from one place to another.It also affords a convenient leverage for swinging the supporting arm 7into and out of operative relation with the upper jaw member of thearticulator, and thirdly when in operative relation with the upper jawmember of the said articulator, it affords a convenient hold for onehand of the operator while the other hand is employed to efi'ect themandibular movement.

In Fig. 1 I have'shown a dental articulator, as before stated,comprising an upper jaw member 14 provided with laterally extendingpivot rods 15, and a lower jaw member comprising a casting 16 and a bow17, the said casting being provided with arms 18 having inclined slottedportions 19 engaging the pivot rods 15 and forming therewith the pivotalconnections between the jaws, the slotted portions 19 acting as condylesand permitting the lateral mandibular movement on separated rotationpoints. The upper jaw member is provided on its upper side in thisinstance with a boss 20 carrying a set screw which cooperates with asupporting surface of peculiar character carried by the lower jaw, andnot shown herein, to control the relative positions of the jaws duringthe mandibular movements. The two jaws are also normally held in closedrelation with the dentures, indicated in dotted lines at 21-22, inarticulated position, by means of a spring indicated at 23. Theparticular construction and operation of the articulator, however, formsno part of the present invention, and will not be more particularlydescribed herein. In order to enable the upper jaw member of thearticulator to be held rigidly in relation to the standard 4, the boss20 is in this instance provided with a kerf or recess, indicated at 24:,to receive the wedging plate 11. To attach the articulator in properposition it is only necessary to seize the handle 13 and swing the arm 7in the direction of the arrow in Fig. .1, so as to bring the supportingarm 7 out of the way, when the pivot rods 15 can be dropped into thetroughshaped bearing supports 6. The handle 13 is then moved to swingthe arm 7 back to its normal position and insert the wedging plate 11firmly in the kerf or recess 24: of the boss 20, thus rigidly supportingthe upper jaw member. By reasonof the wide separation of the trough-likebearing supports 6, the action of the wedging plate at a point forwardof the pivot rods 15, and the elongated bearing for the pivot 9 of thearm 7, an extremely firm and rigid support for the upper jaw member isafforded, while the articulator can be readily detached by simplyswinging the handle 13 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig.1, and lifting the articulator from the stand. With the articulatorsupported in operative relation with the stand, as indicated in Fig. 1,itwill be found that the lower jaw member can be easily moved laterallywith respect to the upper jaw to effect the mandibular movementnecessary for grinding the dentures mounted in the articulator, asbefore stated, and the grinding will proceed more rapidly and easilywhere the upper jaw member is maintained in fixed position.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A supportingstand for dental articulators, comprising among its members a supportingstandard provided with laterally extending arms, having means forengaging and supporting the pivot rods of the articulator, and anindependent supporting arm secured to said standard, and provided withmeans for engaging one of the jaw members of the articulator forward ofthe said laterally extending arms, whereby one jaw member of thearticulator is rigidly supported, while permitting the movement of theother aw member with respect thereto.

2. A supporting stand for dental articulators, comprising among itsmembers a vertically disposed supporting standard, provided withlaterally arranged bearing supports for engaging and supporting thepivot rods of the articulator, and a swinging supporting arm connectedto the standard by a pivotal connection having a vertical axis andadapted in one position to extend forwardly of said bearing supports,and provided on its forward end with means for detachably engaging onejaw member of the articulator for holding it in rigid relation with thesaid standard.

3. A supporting stand for dental articulators, comprising among itsmembers a vertically disposed supporting standard, provided withlaterally arranged bearing supports for engaging and supporting thepivot rods of the articulator and a swinging supporting arm connected tothe standard by an elongated pivotal connection having a vertical axis,said arm in one position extending forwardly of said bearing supports,and having its outer end provided with means for detachably engaging apart connected with the upper jaw member of the articulator for securingit rigidly to the standard, while permitting the lower jaw member to bemoved with respect thereto.

4. A supporting stand for a dental articulator, comprising among itsmembers a vertically disposed standard provided with laterally separatedbearing supports for engaging and supporting the pivot rods of thearticulator, and a swinging supporting arm connected to the standard bya pivotal connection having a vertical axis and having its outer endprovided with a wedging plate for detachably engaging a part connectedwith the upper jaw of the articulator.

5. A supporting stand for a dental articulator, comprising a verticallydisposed standard having laterally separated supporting bearing supportsfor engaging and supporting the pivot rods of the articulator, aswinging supporting arm connected to said standard by a pivotalconnection having a vertical axis, and having its outer end providedwithmeans for detachably engaging the upper jaw member of thearticulator at a point forward of said pivot rods, and a handleconnected with said supporting arm for swinging the same upon its pivot.

6. A supporting stand for a dental articulator, comprising among itsmembers a weighted base portion having a bottom portion of large area, astandard rigidly secured to said base portion, and provided withlaterally extending arms, each of said arms being provided withtrough-shaped bearing supports for engaging and supporting the pivotrods of the articulator, a swinging supporting arm connected to saidstandard by a pivotal connection having a vertical axis and provided atits outer end with means for detachably engaging a part connected withthe upper jaw member of the articulator forward of said pivot rods, anda handle connected with said swinging supporting arm, and extending onthe opposite side of its pivotal connection.

In testimony whereof I atfix my signature.

WILLIAM MONELL STANBROUGH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

